General Edward Kalekezi Kayihura, commonly known as Kale Kayihura, is a Ugandan lawyer, military General, farmer and former policeman. He was the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Uganda Police Force, the highest rank in that branch of Uganda's government, from 2005 until 5 March 2018. He was succeeded by Martin Okoth Ochola in an unexpected reshuffle. This also saw the Minister for security Henry Tumukunde replaced.
Background
Kale Kayihura was born in Kisoro District, Western Uganda, on 26 December 1955. He is the son of Johnson Komuluyange Kalekezi, one of the Ugandans who fought for the African Great Lakes nation's independence, which occurred on 9 October 1962. His father died in an aeroplane crash in Kiev, Ukraine on 17 August 1960, when Kale Kayihura was only four years old. His mother is Catherine Mukarwamo, first-born child of Nyamihana, a former chief of Nyakabande Village. Nyamihana was also the father of Justice Joseph Mulenga Nyamihana, who served as President of the East African Court of Justice and died on 29 August 2012.
Formal education
He went to Gasiza Primary School in Kisoro District. He later transferred to Buhinga Primary School in Kabarole District. He studied at Mutolere Secondary School, at Mutolere, in Kisoro District, up to Senior Four, under the care of his maternal grandmother, the late Sofia Nyamihana. His brilliance in school caught the attention of his paternal uncle, the late Frank Gasasira, an accomplished civil servant at the time, who took over the responsibility of his education. In 1974, Kale Kayihura was enrolled in St. Mary's College Kisubi for his Advanced Level education. He studied Drama, History, English Literature and Economics. He did well and was admitted to Makerere University to study for the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. He graduated in 1978 and proceeded to the London School of Economics from where he graduated with the degree of Master of Laws (LLM), in 1982, at age 26.
Military education
General Kayihura has attended a number of military courses including the following: The Army Command Course at the Army Commander College, in Nanjing, China The Combined Arms Course The Brigade/Battalion Commander's Course The Conflict Resolution and Management Course at Nasser Military Academy, Cairo, Egypt The Command and Staff Course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, United States, from 2000 to 2001.
Public service
In 1982, following his graduation from the University of London, he joined the National Resistance Army, a rebel outfit that fought the regime of Milton Obote II and captured power in 1986. He has since grown in military rank and held multiple offices in the army and public service, including the following:
As an Aide de Camp to the Commander of the Mobile Brigade, from 1982 to 1986. As a Staff Officer in the Office of the Assistant Minister of Defence, from 1986 to 1988. As Chief Political Commissar and simultaneous Director of Political Education in the National Resistance Army. As the Operational Commander of the UPDF forces in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo As a Military Assistant to the President of Uganda. In that capacity, he headed the Anti-Smuggling Unit, whose official name is Special Revenue Police Services.
He formerly served as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Uganda Police Force. He had served in that position since 2005 when he replaced General Edward Katumba Wamala as the IGP. He was the second Ugandan military officer to serve as the chief of the Uganda Police Force, in the history of the country. General Kayihura is still an active member of Uganda's military and was previously the Head of the country's Revenue Protection Services.